Structure of platform shoe

ABSTRACT

A platform shoe includes an upper, a midsole, and an outsole. The upper is attached to the midsole and has a wearing opening. The midsole is attached to the outsole and includes a midsole bed and a front pad. The midsole bed has a posterior portion that is recessed to form a first trough. The front pad is mounted to an anterior portion of the midsole bed and is recessed to form a second trough and a third trough. The outsole includes a supportive section, a bottom section, and a shoe heel. The supportive section has a posterior portion to which the shoe heel is fixed. The bottom section is provided at an underside of the supportive section and the shoe heel. The bottom section has an anterior portion on which the bottom platform is formed. The troughs each receive and retain therein a corresponding soft pad.

(a) TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a structure of a platformshoe, and more particularly to a structure of a platform shoe thatalleviates front rushes of a foot in the platform shoe so as to improvethe safety and comfortableness of the foot wearing the platform shoe.

(b) DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

To enable an “instantaneous” increase of the body height of a consumerto a predetermined level, the footwear business provides a platform shoe1. As shown in FIG. 1, the platform shoe 1 comprises an upper 11, amidsole 12, and an outsole 13.

The upper 11 comprises a wearing opening 111. The upper 11 is attached,by means of adhesives or sewing, to the midsole 12. The combination ofthe upper 11 and the midsole 12 is then fixed to the outsole 13 to forma unitary structure by means of adhesives or sewing.

The outsole 13 is generally manufactured in a unitary form throughinjection molding. The outsole 13 comprises a bottom platform 131 formedat an anterior portion thereof. The outsole 13 has a posterior end towhich a shoe heel 14 is fixed. Both the shoe heel 14 and the bottomplatform 131 have predetermined heights so that the platform shoe 1 iskept at a distance from the ground.

As shown in FIG. 2, in a use of the platform shoe 1, a foot 2 of a useris put through the wearing opening 111 of the upper 11 into the platformshoe 1. The foot 2 is set in contact with the midsole 12 with the heel21 and the foot sole 22. More specifically, the body weight of the useris transmitted through the heel 21 and the foot sole 22 of the foot 2 tothe midsole 12 so as to be supported by the outsole 13. In other words,the arch 23 of the foot 2 is generally in a condition of being notsupported.

Further, both the midsole 12 and the outsole 13 have planer topsurfaces. When a user wearing the shoe is walking, particularly for thecondition where the outsole 13 has a shoe heel 14 of a substantialheight, the heel 21 and the foot sole 22 of the foot 2 of the user mayskid frontwards in the platform shoe 1 in a not-stopped manner. Such acondition readily causes damages to the foot 2.

Further, the shoe heel 14 and the bottom platform 131 of the outsole 13of the conventional platform shoe 1 are generally of heights. When auser wears the platform shoe 1 and walks, a posterior end section 1311of the bottom platform 131 of the outsole 13 becomes a location wherestress concentration may occur. More specifically, the portion from aposterior end of the posterior end section 1311 of the bottom platform131 of the outsole 13 to the shoe heel 14 may undergo swinging andtwisting. This, together with the platform shoe 1 not supporting thearch 23 of the foot 2 of the user, would lead to excessive twist anddeformation of the arch 23 of the foot 2 in walking and thus causeextreme discomfort of the foot 2, or in a worse condition, causingdamage to the arch 23.

Thus, it is a challenge of the shoe manufacturing industry to overcomethe drawbacks of the conventional platform shoe 1.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a structure ofa platform shoe, which overcomes the problem that the conventionalplatform shoe cannot prevent front rushes of the foot of a user in theplatform shoe and cannot provide a support to the arch of the foot andthus readily causes discomfort and hurt of the foot.

To achieve the object, the technical solution adopted in the presentinvention is that a structure of a platform shoe is provided, whereinthe platform shoe comprises at least an upper, a midsole, and anoutsole. The upper is attached to the midsole. The upper comprises atleast a wearing opening. The midsole is attached to the outsole. Themidsole comprises a midsole bed and a front pad. The midsole bed has aposterior portion that is recessed to form a first trough. The front padis mounted to an anterior portion the midsole bed. The front pad isrecessed to form a second trough and a third trough. The outsolecomprises a supportive section, a bottom section, and a shoe heel. Thesupportive section has a posterior portion to which the shoe heel isfixed. The bottom section is formed on the underside of the supportivesection and the shoe heel. The bottom section has an anterior portion onwhich a bottom platform is formed.

With the above-described technical solution, the present inventionachieves the following efficacy. By arranging a first trough, a secondtrough, and a third trough in the midsole and setting a first soft padthat corresponds in shape to the first trough in the first trough,setting a second soft pad that corresponds in shape to the second troughin the second trough, and setting a third soft pad that corresponds inshape to the third trough in the third trough, the midsole is providedwith a plurality of rush stop sites thereon for alleviating front rushesof a foot in the platform shoe so as to improve safety andcomfortableness of the foot wearing the platform shoe.

The foregoing objectives and summary provide only a brief introductionto the present invention. To fully appreciate these and other objects ofthe present invention as well as the invention itself, all of which willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art, the following detaileddescription of the invention and the claims should be read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the specificationand drawings identical reference numerals refer to identical or similarparts.

Many other advantages and features of the present invention will becomemanifest to those versed in the art upon making reference to thedetailed description and the accompanying sheets of drawings in which apreferred structural embodiment incorporating the principles of thepresent invention is shown by way of illustrative example.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional platform shoe.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a use of the conventional platformshoe.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a platform shoe according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing a midsole of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing, in a separated form, a supportivesection and a shoe heel of an outsole of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view, in a separated form, showing theoutsole and the midsole of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, in a separated form, showing the outsoleand the midsole of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a use of the platform shoe accordingto the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following descriptions are exemplary embodiments only, and are notintended to limit the scope, applicability or configuration of theinvention in any way. Rather, the following description provides aconvenient illustration for implementing exemplary embodiments of theinvention. Various changes to the described embodiments may be made inthe function and arrangement of the elements described without departingfrom the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Referring first to FIG. 3, the present invention provides a structure ofa platform shoe. The platform shoe 3 comprises at least an upper 4, amidsole 5, and an outsole 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the upper 4 is attached to the midsole 5 by means ofadhesive or sewing. The upper 4 has at least a wearing opening 41.

As shown in FIG. 4, the midsole 5 comprises a midsole bed 51 and a frontpad 52. The midsole bed 51 has a posterior portion (namely a shoe heellocation) that is recessed to form a first trough 53. The front pad 52is mounted to an anterior portion of the midsole bed 51 (namely a shoepalm location). The front pad 52 is recessed to form a second trough 54and a third trough 55. The midsole bed 51 has a back surface thatcomprises a plurality of insertion holes 56 formed in a portion thereofbetween the first trough 53 and the second trough 54.

The first trough 53 is arranged to extend in an axial direction of themidsole 5 and formed in the posterior portion of the midsole 5 (namelythe shoe heel location). The first trough 53 is a concave trough havinga central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part thatis relatively shallow. The second trough 54 is arranged to extend in atransverse direction of the midsole 5 and formed in a posterior portionof the front pad 52. The second trough 54 is a concave recess having acentral part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that isrelatively shallow. The third trough 55 is arranged to extend in atransverse direction of the midsole 5 and formed in an anterior portionof the front pad 52. The third trough 55 is a concave recess having acentral part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part that isrelatively shallow. More specifically, the first trough 53, the secondtrough 54, and the third trough 55 are arranged sequentially in adirection from the posterior portion of the platform shoe 3 (the shoeheel) toward the anterior portion (shoe palm).

The first trough 53 receives therein a first soft pad 57 that is formedto match the shape of the first trough 53. The second trough 54 receivestherein a second soft pad 58 that is formed to match the shape of thesecond trough 54. The third trough 55 receives therein a third soft pad59 that is formed to match the shape of the third trough 55. The firstsoft pad 57 completely fills the first trough 53. The second soft pad 58completely fills the second trough 54. The third soft pad 59 completelyfills the third trough 55. As such, the midsole 5 exhibits an uppersurface that is a substantially smooth surface.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the outsole 6 comprises a supportive section61, a bottom section 62, and a shoe heel 63. As shown in FIG. 5, thesupportive section 61 comprises a support member 611 made of a metal ora composite material mounted therein. The support member 611 is formedinside the supportive section 61 by means of overmolding in order toprovide the supportive section 61 with a predetermined stiffness. Thesupportive section 61 has an anterior portion from which a plurality ofinsertion pins 612 projects upwards. The insertion pins 612 are set tocorrespond in position to the insertion holes 56 of the midsole 5. Assuch, the insertion pins 612 are insertable into the insertion holes 56of the midsole 5 so as to have the midsole 5 securely positioned on theoutsole 6. The supportive section 61 has a posterior portion in which aplurality of fixing holes 613 is formed. The fixing holes 613 areprovided to secure the shoe heel 63. The supportive section 61 has ananterior end having two projecting side portions and a central concaveportion, whereby the anterior end of the supportive section 61 forms afirst projecting section 614 and a second projecting section 615. Theanterior end of the supportive section 61 is configured to getthickening from the center toward the first projecting section 614 andthe second projecting section 615 so that the first projecting section614 and the second projecting section 615 and an anterior end section6111 of the support member 611 collectively form a triangular kineticsupport by which the medial longitudinal arch, the lateral longitudinalarch and the anterior transverse arch of a foot 7 can be supported.

Back to FIG. 5, the shoe heel 63 comprises a plurality of fixingelements 631 embedded therein. Practically, the fixing elements 631 canbe embodied as expansion bolts. The fixing elements 631 are arranged tocorrespond to the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61, wherebythreaded fasteners S are receivable through the fixing holes 613 of thesupportive section 61 to fix the shoe heel 63 to a posterior end of thesupportive section 61.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the supportive section 61 to which the shoeheel 63 is fixed is subjected to injection molding to integrally formthe bottom section 62 in such a way that an anterior portion of thebottom section 62 forms a bottom platform 64 having a predeterminedheight. As such, the outsole 6 comprises a shoe heel 63 at a posteriorportion thereof and a bottom platform 64 at an anterior portion thereof.

Referring to FIGS. 3, 6, and 7, to assemble the platform shoe 3according to the present invention, the supportive section 61 with theshoe heel 63 fixed thereto is subject to injection molding to integrallyform the bottom section 62 on the underside thereof so as to provide acomplete outsole 6 that comprises a bottom platform 64 of apredetermined height and a shoe heel 63. The upper 4 is attached to themidsole 5 by means of adhesives or sewing. Then, the insertion pins 612of the outsole 6 are inserted into the insertion holes 56 of the midsole5 and at the same time, adhesives or sewing is applied to securely fixthe midsole 5 to the outsole 6 to thereby complete the assembling of theplatform shoe 3 according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 8, to put the platform shoe 3 of the presentinvention into practice, after a foot 7 of a user is put through thewearing opening 41 of the upper 4 into the platform shoe 3, the heel 71of the foot 7 is supported on a shoe heel portion 6 a of the outsole 6.In other words, the heel 71 of the foot 7 is positioned on the firsttrough 53 and the first soft pad 57. The anterior sole 72 of the foot 7is supported on the shoe palm portion 6 b of the outsole 6. In otherwords, the foot sole 72 of the foot 7 is positioned on the second trough54 and the second soft pad 58. The toes 73 of the foot 7 are supportedon the shoe toe portion 6 c of the outsole 6. In other words, the toes73 of the foot 7 are positioned on the third trough 55 and the thirdsoft pad 59. Further, the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 islocated under the arch 74 of the foot 7. As such, through the weight ofthe wearer, the first soft pad 57, the second soft pad 58, and the thirdsoft pad 59 are compressed and thus sink down so as to form three rushstop sites in the midsole 5 of the platform shoe 3, namely a first rushstop site A formed in an anterior end of the first trough 53 (toward thesecond trough 54), a second rush stop site A1 formed in an anterior endof the second trough 54 (toward the third trough 55), and a third rushstop site A2 formed in an anterior end of the third trough 55 (towardthe anterior end of the outsole 6). More specifically, the first rushstop site A is located in front of the heel 71 of the foot 7; the secondrush stop site A1 is located in front of the foot sole 72 of the foot 7;and the third rush stop site A2 is located in front of the toes 73 ofthe foot 7, whereby the first rush stop site A, the second rush stopsite A1, and the third rush stop site A2 may help alleviate frontwardrushes of the foot 7 in the platform shoe 3 to thus improve the safetyand comfortableness of the foot 7 in the platform shoe 3.

As shown in FIG. 8, the arch 74 of the foot 7 is supported from theunderside thereof by the supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 so as toprevent the platform shoe 3 from swinging and twisting between the shoeheel portion 6 a and the shoe palm portion 6 b of the outsole 6 and alsoto provide a support to the arch 74 of the foot 7 by the supportivesection 61. As such, the overall comfortableness and safety forprotection against damage for the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 canbe further improved.

An efficacy of the present invention is that by arranging the firsttrough 53, the second trough 54, and the third trough 55 in the midsole5 and setting the first soft pad 57 that corresponds in shape to thefirst trough 53 in the first trough 53, setting the second soft pad 58that corresponds in shape to the second trough 54 in the second trough54, and setting the third soft pad 59 that corresponds in shape to thethird trough 55 in the third trough 55, the midsole 5 is provided with aplurality of rush stop sites thereon for alleviating front rushes of afoot 7 in the platform shoe 3 so as to improve safety andcomfortableness of the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3.

Another efficacy of the present invention is that the outsole 6 isprovided with the supportive section 61 and the supportive section 61extends from the shoe heel portion 6 a of the outsole 6 toward the shoepalm portion 6 b of the outsole 6, so that excessive twisting of theoutsole 6 of the platform shoe 3 between the shoe heel portion 6 a andthe shoe palm portion 6 b and the arch 74 of the foot 7 is supported bythe supportive section 61 to thereby improve the overall comfortablenessand safety for protection against damage for the foot 7 wearing theplatform shoe 3 and thus enhancing the utilization of the platform shoe3.

A further efficacy of the present invention is that the midsole bed 51comprises a plurality of insertion holes 56 provided on the back sidethereof between the first trough 53 and the second trough 54 and aplurality of insertion pins 612 is provided on the anterior portion ofthe supportive section 61 of the outsole 6 to project upward, where theinsertion pins 612 are arranged to correspond to the insertion holes 56of the midsole 5, so that the insertion pins 612 are insertable into theinsertion holes 56 of the midsole 5 to have the midsole 5 securelypositioned on the outsole 6.

A further efficacy of the present invention is that the supportivesection 61 of the outsole 6 is provided, in a posterior end thereof,with a plurality of fixing holes 613 and a plurality of fixing elements631 is embedded in the shoe heel 63 in such a way that the fixingelements 631 respectively correspond to the fixing holes 613 of thesupportive section 61, so that threaded fasteners S are receivablethrough the fixing holes 613 of the supportive section 61 to fix theshoe heel 63 to the posterior portion of the supportive section 61 tothus securely fix the shoe heel 63 to the outsole 6 without causing theproblem that the shoe heel 63 separates from the outsole 6, therebyfurther improving the utilization performance of the platform shoe 3.

Yet a further efficacy of the present invention is that the anterior endof the supportive section 61 exhibits a configuration having twoprojecting opposite sides and a concave central portion so as to form afirst projecting section 614 and a second projecting section 615 at theanterior end of the supportive section 61 with the anterior end portionof the supportive section 61 being thickened from the central portiontowards the first projecting section 614 and the second projectingsection 615 so that the first projecting section 614 and the secondprojecting section 615 and the anterior end section 6111 of the supportmember 611 collectively form a triangular kinematic support by which themedial longitudinal arch, the lateral longitudinal arch, and theanterior transverse arch of the foot 7 are supported, thereby ensuringstability of standing and walking of a foot 7 wearing the platform shoe3 and also ensuring overall comfortableness and safety for protectionagainst damage for the foot 7 wearing the platform shoe 3 and thusimproving the utilization performance of the platform shoe 3.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or twoor more together may also find a useful application in other types ofmethods differing from the type described above.

While certain novel features of this invention have been shown anddescribed and are pointed out in the annexed claim, it is not intendedto be limited to the details above, since it will be understood thatvarious omissions, modifications, substitutions and changes in the formsand details of the device illustrated and in its operation can be madeby those skilled in the art without departing in any way from the spiritof the present invention.

I claim:
 1. A structure of a platform shoe comprising at least an upper,a midsole, and an outsole; the upper being attached to the midsole, theupper comprising at least a wearing opening; the midsole being mountedto the outsole, the midsole comprising a midsole bed and a front pad,the midsole bed having a posterior portion that is recessed to form afirst trough, the front pad being mounted to an anterior portion of themidsole bed, the front pad being recessed to form a second trough and athird trough; and the outsole comprising a supportive section, a bottomsection, and a shoe heel, the supportive section having a posteriorportion to which the shoe heel is fixed, the bottom section beingprovided at an underside of the supportive section and the shoe heel,the bottom section having an anterior portion on which a bottom platformis formed.
 2. The structure of the platform shoe according to claim 1,wherein the supportive section comprises a support member made of ametal or a composite material mounted therein.
 3. The structure of theplatform shoe according to claim 1, wherein the first trough is formedon the midsole bed of the midsole and located at a shoe heel portion ofthe outsole, the first trough being formed in the midsole in such a wayas to extend in an axial direction of the midsole bed of the midsole,the first trough being a concave trough having a central part that isrelatively deep and a circumferential part that is relatively shallow.4. The structure of the platform shoe according to claim 1, wherein thesecond trough is formed on the front pad of the midsole and located at ashoe palm portion of the outsole, the second trough being formed in themidsole in such a way as to extend in a transverse direction of themidsole, the second trough being a concave trough having a central partthat is relatively deep and a circumferential part that is relativelyshallow.
 5. The structure of the platform shoe according to claim 1,wherein the third trough is formed on the front pad of the midsole andlocated at a shoe toe portion of the outsole, the third trough beingformed in the midsole in such a way as to extend in a transversedirection of the midsole, the third trough being a concave trough havinga central part that is relatively deep and a circumferential part thatis relatively shallow.
 6. The structure of the platform shoe accordingto claim 1, wherein the midsole comprises a plurality of insertion holesformed in a back side thereof, the insertion holes being separatelylocated in a portion between the first trough and the second trough, theoutsole comprising insertion pins formed thereon in such a way that theinsertion pins respectively correspond to the insertion holes of themidsole, whereby the insertion pins of the outsole are insertable intothe insertion holes of the midsole.
 7. The structure of the platformshoe according to claim 6, wherein the insertion pins are formed on thesupportive section of the outsole.
 8. The structure of the platform shoeaccording to claim 1, wherein the midsole comprises a first rush stopsite, a second rush stop site, and a third rush stop site, the firstrush stop site being formed in an anterior end of the first trough, thesecond rush stop site being formed in an anterior end of the secondtrough, the third rush stop site being formed in an anterior end of thethird trough, whereby the first rush stop site is located in front ofthe heel of a foot wearing the shoe, the second rush stop site islocated in front of a foot sole of the foot, and the third rush stopsite is located in front of toes of the foot.
 9. The structure of theplatform shoe according to claim 2, wherein the supportive section isprovided, in a posterior end thereof, with a plurality of fixing holesand the shoe heel comprises a plurality of fixing elements arrangedtherein in such a way that the fixing holes respectively correspond tothe fixing elements, so that threaded fasteners are receivable throughthe fixing holes and the fixing elements to fix the shoe heel to thesupportive section, the fixing elements being expansion bolts.
 10. Thestructure of the platform shoe according to claim 9, wherein thesupportive section has an anterior end having a configuration havingprojecting opposite sides and a concave central portion so that theanterior end of the supportive section forms a first projecting sectionand a second projecting section, the supportive section with theanterior end being thickened from the central portion towards the firstprojecting section and the second projecting section, whereby the firstprojecting section and the second projecting section and an anterior endsection of the support member collectively form a triangular kinematicsupport by which a medial longitudinal arch, a lateral longitudinalarch, and an anterior transverse arch of a foot wearing the shoe aresupported.